


dancing in the dark (with you between my arms)

by coffee_music_books



Series: love jukebox [1]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Drabble, F/F, childhood bffs!wayhaught, ed sheeran has me feeling some type of way, fluffy fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 08:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10590132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffee_music_books/pseuds/coffee_music_books
Summary: You've never seen hair that color before in your life.ORWhat if Nicole grew up in Purgatory, too? What if she and Waverly knew each other growing up? Song fic based on Ed Sheeran's Perfect.





	

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from and fic inspired by Perfect by Ed Sheeran

**Waverly**

You've never seen hair that color before. Willa and Wynonna both have brown hair like yours. But they both have pretty color eyes. Yours are brown. Mama says your eyes are special because they're her eyes.

 

Daddy doesn't say much at all. Not to you, anyway.

 

But this girl, sitting at the desk a row ahead and two to the right of yours, has  _bright_ red hair. You get distracted from your reading. It doesn't matter; you've already been able to read it twice in the time that the teacher has given you. You're only in first grade, but you read the same books as Wynonna, and she's in seventh grade. 

 

The light shines off of her hair and it's orange. You look down at the ends of your long, wavy, light brown hair. The light shines off of your hair yellow. When the teacher dismisses you for recess, you close your book and stand quickly to follow her.

 

"Hey, wait," you call, reaching out to touch her arm. She startles and twists around quickly, the ends of her long, bright hair grazing your cheek. 

 

"Sorry," she says, tucking that hair behind her ears. "I got scared."

 

"I didn't mean to scare you." You flick your thumb against the tip of your pointer finger, an old nervous tick. You're not really sure why you're nervous. You clear your throat and hope it'll help the butterflies you suddenly feel in your belly. "Uh, I'm Waverly." You smile at her and look at her face. She has a nice face, and when she smiles you can see a gap between her two front baby teeth and dimples in her cheeks.

 

"Hi. I'm Nicole. I'm also hungry," she adds, pointing towards the cafeteria. "Do you wanna eat lunch, maybe?" You smile your biggest smile and nod fast. 

 

Lunch with Nicole is really fun. You usually sit with Stephanie Jones and Chrissy Nedley, but Stephanie isn't very nice to you and Chrissy's daddy doesn't get along with your daddy. Wynonna doesn't like those girls, either.

 

You tell her the next day that you like her hair. When she smiles you feel your cheeks get warm, and you can't stop smiling at her either. You two are fast friends.

 

At least until Daddy and Willa.

 

**Nicole**

 

You miss Waverly a lot. Mommy transfers you and Haley into a different school district-- something about better sports and scholarships for college that you weren't really listening to --so you don't see her much after her daddy and sister are gone. You wish you knew where she lived so you could give her a hug. You wish you could drive yourself there.

 

You're in eighth grade, awkward and skinny but pretty enough to be accepted by the popular kids. You're tall and lanky, and you often think the only thing you're good at is lacrosse. Classes are harder at this school and you struggle to read letters and numbers. You have "dyzlEkseeuh" they tell you. Mommy says you're perfectly normal and doesn't let them take you into the special help room. You're grateful she protected you, but you wish reading was a little easier.

 

Your friends drag you to the abandoned grazing field just outside of downtown Purgatory-- if anything can even be called  _downtown Purgatory_ \--late on Friday nights when the weather warms up again. They give you nondescript brown bottles and tell you to drink. It'll help you loosen up, they say. You're so uptight, they tell you, rolling their eyes. You take a long gulp and then gag as your throat burns. 

 

Your head starts swimming soon thereafter, and there are a lot more people here than there were last weekend. Carly, a tall girl on the lacrosse team with rich brown skin and a pretty smile, brought her older sister's iHome and starts playing music from her phone. Some people start to dance, and you're looking around when you see her.

  
Waverly.

 

She's dancing with some girls you recognize from grade school- Stephanie and Chrissy, you think. Carly grabs you by the wrist and pulls you towards the makeshift dance floor. Closer to Waverly. 

 

You reach up and rub your eyes, sure you're imagining her. She's taller now. Still tiny, but her hair, she kept long. Her smile is as beautiful as you remember it, with her eyes turning upward with it. She has braces now and she's one of the lucky ones with unblemished skin. 

 

She doesn't notice you staring at her from far away like you had been, but your frozen body on the animated dance floor gets her attention. She recognizes you instantly.

 

"Nicole!" She comes running to you and jumps into your arms, wrapping her little legs around your waist. She laughs as you catch her and you smell the same burning liquid you drank on her breath. You stumble back with the force, and when you let her down, you notice how much taller you are than she is. Her forehead only comes up to the level of your lips. She's wobbly and fluid in her movements as she reaches up to fiddle with the ends of your hair. "You cut your hair," she observes, frowning.

 

You smile. "Hi, Waverly." She releases your hair, which only reaches your collar bones now. "Yes, I had to. For lacrosse."

 

"They make you cut your hair for lacrosse?" She rests her hands on her waist but she sways, unsteady and more than a little bit drunk.

 

"Not  _make_. But high ponytails mess with the fit of the goggles we have to wear." You shrug. You don't mind having shorter hair. You like that it's so easy to manage.

 

Waverly doesn't seem sold. "I loved your long hair when we were kids." She pulls on her braid. "At least you kept that beautiful color. So many girls on the cheerleading team are dying their hair." 

 

Your raise your eyebrows, filing the compliment away in your mind. "Cheerleading team?"

 

"Oh yeah!" She's a little bit too loud and you smile, wincing inwardly. "Steph and Chrissy convinced me to try out for junior varsity. Turns out I'm a really good dancer." You imagine Waverly in one of those tiny skirts, holding pom poms and wiggling. Your mouth runs dry for some reason.

 

Steph and Chrissy come running over, shrieking at Waverly about someone called  _Champ_ wanting to hang out with her. Their voices make your head hurt and his name makes you mad. You're not really sure why. You don't like this drunk feeling. Waverly smiles and nods at them, easy going as ever, and turns to you. "I have to run, Nic. But it was so good to see you. Add me on Facebook! We need to keep in touch!" And then she's gone.

 

Carly tells you people are getting ready to leave. You're tired and developing a headache behind the top of the bridge of your nose, so you nod gratefully when she offers you a ride in her brother's car.

 

The last thing you see is some boy with his arm wrapped around Waverly's waist and his face in the space between her jaw and the base of her neck. She's giggling like he's tickling her. It makes you nauseous.

 

**Waverly**

 

Champ treats you well. He's nice, and he looks at you like a prize. You see when his eyes glaze with boredom if you wax on too long about some great book you've just finished, but he buys you flowers and asks you to the prom with a giant stuffed teddy bear.

 

And you're happy. Sort of.

 

Something feels like it's missing. On paper, you have a great boyfriend who loves you, a job, friends, and you've always been bright. You can't put your finger on it, but something feels like it's missing. Wynonna leaves again after you graduate high school, but you stay with Gus and Uncle Curtis. They're good people and they treat you like their own daughter. You enroll in an online university and pick up more shifts at Shorty's to pay for it. Eventually, you move into the loft above the bar, and you give Champ a key.

 

Life goes on, and you tell yourself you're happy.

 

People in Purgatory have their opinions about Wynonna, but they've been able to keep them to themselves. It isn't until she breezes back into town on her twenty-seventh birthday--and you catch her with  _your boyfriend_ in  _your bed_ \--that they remember that oh, yeah, you're her sister.

 

Your apartment is broken into shortly thereafter. When the police come to check in on you, it's Sheriff Nedley, a tall man in a suit that you've never seen before, and an officer.

 

You recognize her immediately. You've always been able to. 

 

"Hi, Waverly," she says with a little wave. "You okay?"

 

You blink and realize you've been staring at her. Nicole has her hair in a tight braid, and she's wearing a white Stetson hat on top of her head. She looks like an old-time country cop. Her face still has that simple beauty that it always had, and her smile still creates dimples in her cheeks. "Yes. Uh, wow. Hi, Nicole. Or is it Officer Haught now?" You smile warmly at her as she ducks her head.

 

"No, no. I was always Nicole to you. Always will be." Her cheeks pink, and she folds her hands in front of her as the man in the suit walks up to you with a notepad. Xavier Dolls means business when he asks you about the break-in, but you don't know much. The whole time you're talking to him, you can feel Nicole's eyes on you. You don't know why mentioning Champ, who lives there with you, makes you so uncomfortable.

 

Wynonna comes to pick up you and your stuff and move you into the homestead. Champ protests, but Wynonna insists and he's always been a little bit afraid of her. You think it's because she's always hated him. 

 

"Waves, you know I love ya," she says as she's parking Gus's truck. You roll your eyes. "But you really need to get better taste in men. Date someone with a real job. Like a cop, or something."

 

You don't know why that makes you blush so furiously.

 

**Nicole**

 

When Wynonna tells you Waverly and Champ have broken up, it takes you a few moments to register it. "Yeah," she says, rolling her eyes. "I can't say I'm sad about it. Waves was always too good for that guy." She knocks back a shot of whiskey and adds "way too good" in a pained voice, for good measure. 

 

You're quiet for a while. You know why you're surprised; Waverly and Champ have been together since high school. For, like,  _forever_. But she's  _Waverly_ , beautiful and graceful and ethereal and unattainable Waverly. Except she's not. Unattainable. At least, not anymore. A tightness releases around your chest and you take a deep, long breath, and exhale slowly. "What?" Wynonna asks, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed at you. You forgot she was there. Oops.

 

"I, uh," you stutter, trying to get your bearings. "I didn't realize they'd broken up. How's Waverly doin'?" You rub the back of your neck under your braid and hope she doesn't notice how red your cheeks must be.

 

"Oh, she's doing okay. Hangin' in there." She shrugs, but you know better. If Waverly wasn't doing well, Wynonna wouldn't be here at the bar with you at all. She'd be hovering over Waverly, pretending that she's too cool but loving and caring and anxious enough to stay too long.

 

You smile inwardly at that. "Well," you say, clearing your throat and standing up from your bar stool. "I'm glad, then. It's about time Waverly got to live her life for herself, and decide what it is she really wants." Wynonna gives you a half-smile but doesn't look up from her newly filled glass, and you take it as your cue to leave.

 

When you turn towards the door, you see Waverly walking into the bar, and she finds you immediately too. You smile at her, and she smiles back, raising her hand to wave to you. You can tell that she knows that Wynonna's told you everything. You wisely keep your mouth shut about Champ as you walk towards her. "Hey, Waves," you say, your voice light in a way it hasn't been with Waverly since you two were kids.

 

"Hey." She's bubbly and seems to be floating. Gus was right; she's too good for this town. She smiles shyly at you as you go to pass her, but she touches your wrist before you can scurry away. "Wait. Um, we should, uh, talk. Soon, I mean. You know, you and me."

 

You smile at her timidness and nod. "Yeah, okay. Talk. Soon?"

 

She nods and gives you her best smile. "Sounds good."

 

When you leave, you feel like you're floating.

 

**Waverly**

 

Nicole is coming to the homestead tonight. For your first date.

 

 _Date_.

 

You're giddy and anxious and excited in ways you never were with Champ, not even in the beginning. You can't stop smiling, and Wynonna catches on quickly. The day after you and Nicole talked about trying this dating thing out, Wynonna saw you at Shorty's and called it immediately. When you asked, surprised, how she'd known, she just rolled her eyes and asked for another shot.

 

You hear Nicole's car door slam and see her walking up the porch of the homestead from your window. She's wearing dark jeans and her usually tight braid is gone. In the setting sun, her bright red hair looks like fire. She's carrying flowers, and you smile and run downstairs to let her in.

 

"Hi," you say, when you open the door. She told you to dress comfy, so you're in jeans and a cropped sweater. You watch as she sweeps her eyes down your body, but she doesn't respond for a while. "Nicole?"

 

"Oh! Shit, sorry, hi, Waverly!" She's embarrassed, if the flush in her cheeks is any indication, and she unceremoniously thrusts the bouquet at you. You smile as you take it from her and raise the flowers to your face, inhaling.

 

"Chrysanthemums. My favorite." She smiles and releases a relieved breath. "Come in. I'm just gonna go put these in water, and then we can go out back." You walk into the kitchen as she closes the door behind her after wiping her shoes on the welcome mat outside. You grab one of Mama's old crystal vases from the cabinet and fill it with water. You place it near the window in the kitchen so the flowers will have lots of sunlight, but rearrange some clutter so you can see the flowers from any angle. You nod once when you're satisfied, and you hear Nicole snort at you. You turn to scoff at her, but you knock the vase with the back of your hand, sending water all over the counter top. "Oh no!" you shout, jumping back too late.

 

Nicole fills the vase again as you clean up the counter top and floor. You can't decide if you want to run upstairs and change your outfit. Nicole must see the gears turning in your head. "What's wrong?" you hear her ask.

 

"Oh, nothing." You lead her outside and set up the fire pit, laying a knit blanket on the ground. Then, you set up your iHome so you can listen to music and drink beer and relax. Finally, you turn to her and smile. "So I'm just gonna run upstairs really quick and change, but get comfy. Okay?"

 

She looks confused. "Change? Why?"

 

You look down at your clothes. The water is mostly dry, but your sweater has wrinkled and your jeans are dirty from setting up the fire. "Oh, well." You clear your throat. "I just- my clothes are nasty. I look like a total mess." You toss a quick, nervous laugh in and glance up at Nicole through your eyelashes.

 

"You look perfect." She's smiling reverently at you, and it comes out in a whisper. You blush, your smile starting to hurt your cheeks.

 

**Nicole**

 

"Oh, please," Waverly says, waving her hand at you in a  _pshaw_ motion. "Hardly."

 

You didn't realize she could hear it, but at this point, you don't even care. You're so happy to be here with her, in the warm air with the sun setting behind her. 

 

You take her hand and pull her towards you. As a new song begins to play, you sway, holding her to you and dancing. She's smiling with glassy eyes, looking at you as though you can't be real. "You look like an angel." She blushes furiously and buries her face in your collar bone. "I don't know how I deserved this. But it's perfect. And you're perfect."

 

You wrap your arms more tightly around Waverly and continue to dance. You hear twigs breaking under your feet, you feel her heartbeat fluttering fast in her chest, you feel the air start to cool as the sun continues to set.

 

And you're happy. 

 

 

 


End file.
